Unretractable foreskin. Do I have BXO?

This will probably end up being a long post so you'll have to bear with me. I've been researching this a long time and I hope someone on here can give me some help with my current situation. I just found this forums and there seems to be quite a few knowledgeable people here.

I've been living with acquired phimosis for about 5 years now. I know it's acquired because I used to be able to retract my foreskin painlessly and effortlessly. I remember being able to since I was very young (like maybe 5 or 6) and I never had any problems with adhesion or childhood phimosis. Only within the last five years or so have I had problems with it.

I didn't even notice at first but it started as a gradual constricting of the prepuce. For about a year or two I could still retract it partially up until 2 or 3 years ago when I couldn't retract it even when flaccid. Around that time scarring developed in sort of a whitish ring around the tip of the prepuce which got smaller and smaller. The opening is now very narrow and it is impossible to insert a finger in it to stretch it. Lately the scarring seems to have advanced downward somewhat so that I can feel fibrous lines of scarring running down the prepuce.

Judging by feeling from the outside though I don't think the foreskin has adhered to the glans, that is, it doesn't feel stuck if you know what I mean. I don't suspect that the glans is affected (but of course I can't prove it). It was painful when I could partially retract it since the glans forced the opening outwards. It is now painless besides some itching or irritation once in a while.
The primary problem is urination. The tightness restricts urine flow and I can no longer produce a straight stream and balooning occurs however it isn't really painful at all. It's just more of a nuisance.

From what I've read these symptoms correspond to BXO yet I don`t believe I have an infection. The glans is not inflamed at all nor is anything else. There`s no strange discharges and there`s no foul smell except that of urine which remains in the foreskin due to the tightness. Is it possible to have the scarring without bxo?

I try to keep it as clean as possible considering I can`t get under the foreskin to wash but I try to get some water in there and rinse it out at least when I shower. Basically I do what I can.

I suspect the problem was caused or at least contributed to by masturbation methods where I used to either pull the foreskin back and hold it very tight or pull it forward pretty far which put a lot of tension on the skin. I did actually tear it and bled a little on one occasion which would explain the scarring. All that tension, though, seems to have lengthened the prepuce actually so that, when flaccid, I have about an inch of extra skin but it`s not really noticeable when erect. I`ve tried to kick it numerous times but the regular method feels very unsatisfying in comparison. Stimulation of the glans does nothing for me. For me sexual pleasure comes solely from the foreskin. I`ve done it that way for as long as I can remember and never had any problems up until a few years ago so perhaps there was something else going on as well. It`s hard to say. I`ve since managed to stop doing it that way and use the normal method.

Anyways I haven`t talked to a doctor yet about this since Ive always been extremely self conscious about my penis and I feel very uncomfortable about showing it to someone else. Also I am not at all willing to be circumcised. I would rather live with the problem than lose my foreskin. I`m rather emotionally attached to it and Ive heard most doctors go right for circumcision.

Would stretching work on such an advanced case of phimosis? Despite the scarring I still think there is undamaged mucosal tissue in there than can be stretched. What methods are best when the opening is very tight? Are the objects I can comfortable insert to gently stretch it?

Has anyone ever tried stretching devices like the glansie? If so, do they work?

Could an advanced case like mine be resolved by preputialplasty?

How effective are topical steroids in these cases? Can I get a prescription without going into detail about my foreskin problems? Is there over the counter stuff that works?

Ive fed up with this stuff and I`m determined to get back to normal so any help is much appreciated!

You really have no option but to see a doctor. Nobody on the net can distinguish between BXO, and scarring from a severe, chronic, untreated yeast infection.
Ask the doctor up front what his or her views are on circumcision. Find one who is willing to work with you, and treat your penis conservatively...meaning that surgery is the absolute last option. You could potentially squirt an anti-fungal prescribed by your doctor under your foreskin, even with pinhole phimosis. If it is determined to be a yeast infection, at least this would stop the foreskin from tightening more. No steroids are available without prescription. Betamethasone could potentially thin a scarred phimotic ring, so that the yeast infection, if that's what it is, could be treated. I am not certain which steroid would be used to treat BXO, but it can be treated with steroids more successfully than steroids. When BXO occurs in females, they call it lichen sclerosis, and never treat it surgically.
There is a discussion started by Abel Tasman, if I recall, many pages back. He had severe phimotic ring scarring, and was determined to avoid surgery. He, I believe, used a device doctors use to separate a woman's inner labia, to stretch his ring. He did not recommend the glansie, and someone in that thread said that they were not well made. Where there is a will, there is a way, especially for those who are smart, have an imagination, and are persistent.
Almost every man who has a foreskin is emotionally attached to it. To not be emotionally attached to it is abnormal. Two thirds or more of my sexual sensation comes from the inner foreskin and frenulum. You deserve to have a healthy one. Waiting this long will make recovery a more lengthy process, but don't give up. Let us know what the doctor says, and how treatment goes. Best of luck to you with this.

I felt I had to reply to his message, as the original poster's situation is so much like mine was during my teens and twenties. Stretching did not work for me, and I got circumcised when I was 30. I'm not entirely happy with the result, although it was better than suffering from extreme phimosis. I never had the chance to research the condition on the internet, and if I had known about steroid creams I would certainly have given it a try.

My phimosis developed when I was 11-12, and I had exactly the same problems of spraying when urinating, and itching under the foreskin which I couldn't get at. I probably made it worse by stretching too hard and tearing the skin, which then healed up even tighter. And I developed infections under the skin, which caused the foreskin and glans to heal together.

So my advice would be to try stretching with steroid creams, maybe even preputioplasty, but if they don't work then a conventional circumcision is probably the "least worst" option.

This sounds exactly like phimosis from an untreated yeast infection.
There are pills you can take, to knock the yeast out of your system.
Then, stretching will work.
If stretching did not work for everyone, when people put on weight, they would burst.

After a bit of further research I found out that yeast might be an actual cause. I've been trying to find information for a long time and only a few weeks ago did I even find out about it. I thought it only happened to women. But on another forum I was reading a thread where the poster was recommended Lotrimin.

I don't think we have that brand name here. At least I didn't find it but I did pick up a tube of generic clotrimazole 1% cream and I've been applying it before I go to bed and after I wake up.

The hard white tissue that I thought was scar tissue gradually is turning back to a healthy appearance which really eases my mind and I doubt very much now if I have bxo. But when I say gradually I do mean gradually. It's been close to a month now and while I definitely notice a change the opening is still narrow and I'm nowhere even close to retractable but finally it seems to be getting better and I'll definitely be continuing with anti-fungals to get rid of it.

I don't really care how long it takes. I can be patient but if someone knows of a stronger anti-fungal thats OTC i wouldn't mind speeding up the process.

I agree. I think you need to see a doctor, to get an oral antifungal. With your foreskin unretractable, I don't think you can reach all the spots you would need to, to eliminate all the yeast. The yeast would be easily eliminated with a prescription.
Anybody can get a yeast infection, circumcised or uncircumcised, male or female.
I am really happy for you that it isn't BXO. Once you get the yeast eliminated, you can follow the stretching instructions at the top of Men's Health. In six to eight weeks, with daily gentle stretching, you'll likely be retractable. A whole ne w world of pleasure awaits you.